Beef Osso Bucco Over Parsley Parsnip Puree

Who doesn't love Osso Bucco???  Veal, pork, beef, whatever.  Slow cooked meat with vegetables is just plain ol' delish!  The restaurant I work in has done several different versions of an Osso Bucco appetizer, and at some point a light bulb went off and I decided that I absolutely needed to try making my own.  I ended up going with beef primarily because it was what was available in my grocery store at the time that I was inspired to try this recipe, and I already had most, if not all, of the ingredients, outside of the meat, available in my house.  

The Osso Bucco recipe is inspired by a dish I found on Food Network's website, and of course, was a Giada recipe, however, mine is so drastically different, that I can't even give you the link because you won't recognize it.  Likewise, the Parsnip Puree was also inspired by a Tyler Florence recipe, but I changed it up quite a bit by substituting soy milk and parsley in order to carry the parsley flavor throughout the entire dish.  This was, indeed, a huge hit in my house, and is something that I will continue to make over the years.  Give it a try, and if you want, take my recipe, mix it up a bit, and call it your own!

Ingredients:
Osso Bucco:
3 whole Beef Shanks, trimmed
1 tbsp. Whole Wheat flour
2 tbsp. Extra-virgin Olive Oil
1 small White onion, diced
2 Carrots, diced
2 Celery stalks, diced
2 Vine tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp. Tomato paste
4 c. Beef stock
2 whole garlic cloves
1 dried Bay leaf
1/4 c. Parsley, chopped

Parsley Parsnip Puree:
1 lb. Parsnip, peeled and coarsely cut
1/2 Unsweetened Soy milk
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Garlic cloves, sliced
1/4c. Parsley, lightly chopped
2 tbsp. Extra-virgin Olive Oil

Pat dry the beef shanks, and trim.  Cover all sides of the shanks with whole wheat flour.  In a 4-quart pot, heat 2 tbsp. of oil, place the beef shanks in the pan, and brown on all sides.  Remove the meat from the pan, and place aside.  

Place the onion, carrots, and celery in the pot and saute until soft, about 8 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, tomato past, beef stock, garlic cloves and bay leaf.  Return the beef shanks to the pot, and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, and allow to cook for approximately 1 1/2-2 hours.  Add chopped parsley within the last 15 minutes of cooking.  Remove bay leaf before serving.

In the meantime, you can either cook the parsnips by placing them in a pan and covering with water, and bringing them to a boil, then simmering until tender (about 15 minutes), or steam them until cooked through.  When cooked, (a fork should easily pierce them), place the parsnips into a food processor.  In a saucepan, place the soy milk, garlic cloves and parsley over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, and strain out the garlic and the parsley.  

Puree the parsnips in the food processor until smooth.  Slowly at the olive oil while pureeing.  When smooth, then add the soy milk, garlic, and parsnip mixture to the food processor while pureeing.  Puree until it is a texture you like.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

To present, place about a 1/4 cup of the parsnip puree in a bowl, top with part of the beef shank (it should be falling apart at this point), and then ladle over some veggies and stock from your pot.

This is such an easy dish to execute, although there may seem to be a lot of steps.  I would recommend trying it if you want to impress your in-laws or friends.  If you plate it right, they'll think they're dining at some fancy restaurant instead of sitting at your dinner table!